Random Inspirations
by FrameofMind
Summary: A collection of unrelated drabbles and oneshots that don't fit anywhere else. Styles, genres, and subject matter may vary. Rated M to cover all the bases.
1. Salt and Pepper

**Disclaimer (for the duration of the collection):** I don't own Inuyasha. Yep, I think that pretty much sums it up.

**Author's Note:** Okay, so, I've just recently gotten on board the LJ fic contest bandwagon, and I needed a place to house all the little odds and ends that are being generated/will be generated for those, and that don't necessarily fit anywhere else. Plus, my story list is getting way too long as it is—can't afford to keep posting all those little random joke fics and things as separate pieces (--grin--). Maybe I'll pull those together in a collection one of these days—who knows. Anyway, I've named this collection "Random Inspirations" after the file on my computer where I keep all my weird thoughts and story ideas. Thought it seemed appropriate…

And, now that these notes have nearly gotten longer than the story (I swear that won't always be the case… --grin--), let's get on with it. This short-short was first posted on June 2, 2008 at LJ's iyficcontest for Week 146: Hair Theme, and it won first place. Word Count: 248

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**Salt and Pepper**

She smiled. The coarse strands of white that were mixed with her dark locks, splayed over the pillowcase, made it look as if she had aged fifty years in the few minutes she'd been dozing. Actually, she rather looked forward to going gray like that—she'd always liked the look, like getting blonde highlights, but without all the time and expense (well, actually, there was some time involved—but at least she wouldn't have to spend it sitting in a chair, paging through glossy, insubstantial fashion magazines).

She ran her fingers over the strands, her smile fading. Sure, it was only a distant musing now—but it wouldn't always be. Time would move forward for her—it would disappear so quickly that he would seem to stand still in comparison. Ironic, almost. His first love had become trapped in a moment in time, while he had continued with his life—and now she, the second, would outstrip him.

"Hey," he murmured in her ear, pulling her a little closer into his chest. "What are you thinking about?"

She breathed a sigh and pressed the mingled strands against her lips, pensively. "I wish we could just stay like this forever."

She felt him chuckle, and it brought a little of the smile back to her face. "We can if you want, wench," he said, pressing a kiss to the nape of her neck. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good," she sighed, snuggling back into his warmth, "then neither am I."


	2. Small Steps

**Author's Note:** Here's another short piece from iyficcontest. This one was first posted at LJ on June 10, 2008, and won first place for Week 147: Parents and Children. Word Count: 988

* * *

**Small Steps**

Inuyasha smiled indulgently as he watched the little girl stride out in front of him, a bucket almost half her size propped against her hip. She had to use both hands and bend way over to the side just to keep her balance, but he didn't bother offering to carry it for her—he knew he'd only get a glare and a reminder that she was "six-and-three-quarters already" for his trouble. Instead, he simply hung back and let her lead the way, still close enough to catch her if she stumbled.

They reached the stream in just a few minutes' time, and he followed her up to the edge, watching her footing on the rocks as she maneuvered the bucket around to reach the water. "Don't!" she said stubbornly when he got just a little too close, and he backed off an inch or two, crossing his arms over his chest nonchalantly. A lock of silver hair fell in her face as she crouched on top of a stone—just a little further out than she really ought to have been, but he knew she was still within reach—and she brushed it impatiently out of the way, only to have it fall right back again. He took a half a step forward, but she stopped him with a scolding, "No, Daddy," so he stayed put. She tucked her hair firmly behind her ears, and then carefully eased the bucket off the rock and into the water, filling it to the brim. On the way back to shore she was a bit more cautious, struggling beneath the added weight of the water, but he didn't interfere. Finally she was back on solid ground, and dropped the bucket on the grass, its contents sloshing slightly. Her shoulders rising and falling in a satisfied pant, she looked up at him and beamed brightly. He grinned back.

"Nice work, kiddo. What do you say we take a break and rest here before we head back?"

"I don't need a break," she insisted, planting her hands on her hips. "I'm not tired."

"Yeah, I know," he said, concealing his amusement, "but I am. That was a long walk. Come on, just for a little bit."

"Okay, if you want," she agreed, and he took a seat on the grass facing out over the water, she settling herself beside him.

A moment or two passed in silence; and then she asked thoughtfully: "Daddy?"

"Hm."

"What's a half-breed?"

Inuyasha's heart turned over in his chest, a cold shiver rippling across his skin. He'd been here before. He remembered asking his mother the very same question, many years ago. She'd never given him an answer—all she'd been able to do was cry—but he had found out soon enough. The hard way. "Where did you hear that word?" he asked calmly, masking his concern.

"Taro. He said it."

"He…called you a half-breed?"

"No." Inuyasha looked at her curiously, and a pair of big, chocolate-brown eyes blinked back at him. "He called you that," she finished.

"Oh…" he murmured, glancing away across the water again. Well, at least he hadn't said it to her. Still, if he'd had his way, she'd never have had to hear that word at all.

"And then his mom, she got mad. She told him if he said that word again, she'd put soap in his mouth. That's gross—why would she do that?"

He frowned. "I…I don't know. To punish him, I guess." To be honest, he was almost as confused as she was. He'd never known humans to be squeamish about calling people like him "half-breeds." Not most of them, anyway.

"But why? What's a half-breed?"

"It's…" he began, choosing his words carefully, "it's a not-very-nice word for people like me. People who are different."

"Different from what?"

He shrugged. "From other people. People who aren't quite the same as humans or demons."

"But you're not different."

He glanced over at her to find her looking back at him in genuine confusion—and for a second he was looking at a miniature of her mother. "How do you figure that?"

"You're the same as me," she said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And then, conversation apparently over, she pushed herself to her feet and walked back over to where she'd left the water bucket.

He watched with a strange sensation of wonder as his little daughter heaved a burden far too heavy for her to carry—not because she had to, but because she wanted to. Words like "half-breed" couldn't touch her. She would never have to fight to survive. She would never have to become hard and strong just to find her place in the world. She had been born with a place—and somehow, unfathomably, she had been born with the ability never to doubt this.

She had already started her way back down the path by the time he roused himself from his thoughts and got up to follow her—but this time he came up beside her. "Hey, squirt—can I hang on to the handle too?"

"You don't have to help me, Daddy. I'm not a little kid."

"I know," he said with a smile, meaning it. "But I want to."

"Okay," she replied, shrugging her free shoulder and allowing him to grasp the handle as well. He was so much taller than her that the bucket hung right about shoulder-level on her now that he was holding it, so he was bearing all the weight, but she didn't let go of the handle once. As they walked back toward the village, their burden between them, he couldn't help stealing a few marveling glances at her. She was right—they were the same in so many ways. But one way in which they differed was also the most important:

She would never be alone.


	3. In the Interim

**Author's Note:** This is a short piece I wrote a couple of weeks ago based on a spoiler for chapter 558 (the final chapter of the manga)—so, although it's not exactly like what really happened, there are definite parallels. Basically it was me speculating on how things would go, based on the information I had gleaned from the spoiler. Anyway, if you're not up to date, proceed at your own risk… (--grin--)

This was first posted to the LJ's "Firsttweak" on June 18, 2008, and it tied for third place in their "Three Years Later" Special Challenge. Word Count: 1431

**In the Interim**

"Hey." He glanced up at the sound of her voice, and watched her descend the steps of the well house to where he was perched on the lip of the well. "Something wrong?" she asked, her smile faltering slightly.

He shrugged off her concern, returning the smile casually. "Nah. Just thinking."

"You heading back now?" she asked, taking a seat beside him.

He nodded. "You get everything straightened out with your folks?"

"Yep—they seemed fine with it. Not that that's a surprise—after all, it's a better deal than before, isn't it? I'll be able to finish my studies without having to miss school all the time and make up excuses, and I'll still get to see you on the weekends. And with Naraku and the jewel both gone, things'll be a lot safer and less complicated all around."

"Yeah," he agreed, though he was afraid his voice didn't sound quite as confident as he'd hoped.

She glanced at him again, a little of the concern coming back. "It's only three years, Inuyasha. And besides, it's not like I'll be completely gone. I'm coming back next weekend, remember?"

"I know."

A brief silence fell, and she turned to stare at the ground between her feet.

Inuyasha heaved a sigh, and spoke at last. "Kagome." She looked over at him curiously, but he didn't meet her gaze, not just yet. "Listen, I just… If anything should happen—if the well stops working, or you get too busy, or you just decide…"

"None of that's going to happen, Inuyasha," she said firmly, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "If the well stops working, I'll find a way to get to you, just like you got to me. And as for all the rest, well, when have I ever been too busy for you?"

He smiled slightly at her determination and stubbornness, and part of him was comforted to hear this—but another part of him knew that sometimes things got in the way, things that were bigger than they were, and…he couldn't take that chance. Not this time. "I know that," he replied. "But, just in case—if at some point you find you can't get back, or that…you don't want to come back, just…" He turned, looking her directly in the eyes. "Just know that I love you. I always have, and I always will. And wherever you are…I want you to be happy."

They stared at each other for a long moment, tears brimming in Kagome's eyes—but it seemed even she couldn't bring herself to argue with him this time. They both knew it was a possibility. Even if the well stayed open, three years was a long time. She would be doing new things, meeting new people, people who belonged in her world—and no matter how strong their feelings for one another were, there was always a chance that someone would come along one day and take her away from him. Someone who could give her a life like the one she'd always expected to lead, safe and comfortable in her own era. As much as he dreaded the thought of losing her, he had always known that her safety and happiness were more important to him than his very life.

He got to his feet and turned around, preparing to spring into the well—but before he could do so, a small weight thudded into his chest, and all of a sudden her lips were crushed against his. Her arms clung to his neck so tightly he thought she'd never let go, and he didn't want her to, so he returned the embrace with equal passion. Her tears had spilled over now, sliding between their lips, infusing the kiss with the delicate taste of salt.

"I will come back," she whispered when they broke apart, holding his face between her hands. "I promise I'll come back. I love you."

He kissed her again, gently, on the forehead—and then he stepped around her, one foot on the lip of the well. "Goodbye, Kagome."

"So long," she corrected softly. But he didn't reply, merely plunging into the darkness beneath him. He glanced up just as he began to feel the time slip open to him, and saw her peering over the edge, watching him go. In those last few moments, he tried to memorize her face, hoping it would not be the last time he would see it.

Kagome did not return that weekend—or the next, or the next after that. When Inuyasha steeled himself to try the well, he confirmed what he had feared: It would no longer allow him to pass through to the other world. Somewhere centuries away, Kagome continued with her life, making friends as she always did, pursuing her studies diligently as she always had, brightening every room with her glowing smile and fiery spirit. Inuyasha, for his part, spent his days and nights in the forest near the village, no longer quite alone, but once again missing a part of himself he had never known existed before. All the while he kept watch over the well, hoping that she would return one day as she had promised, but knowing somehow that the brightest of his days were now all behind him. Wherever she was, he hoped that she was happy—and that she had found it easier to forget him than he had found it to forget her.

It was a cool spring morning, like any other, and Inuyasha was dozing against the side of the well. He preferred it here to sleeping in the village. There was peace and quiet, and the smell of the forest surrounded him like a blanket. After three long years, her scent had almost certainly faded—but somehow with his back pressed against the weathered wood he could almost imagine that it had not, that he had been allowed to keep something of her even though she had disappeared from his life forever.

He was in that twilight between sleep and waking, basking in that imagined scent, when all of a sudden a hand grabbed his shoulder from behind, and he jolted awake, spinning out of its grasp and up to his feet a short distance away, hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt. It was only then that he realized that the hand had come from within the well, and there had been something strangely familiar about the yelp that had followed his quick movements. His nose was telling him tales as well, but he wasn't willing to believe them just yet. It couldn't be.

The hand appeared again, grabbing onto the lip of the well—then another, and the sound of scuffling and a few muffled grunts. He stepped forward slowly, hardly daring to believe it—but when he peaked over the edge and met a pair of familiar blue eyes blinking back at him from below, his heart soared.

"Hi In—" was as far as she got before he reached in and yanked her out of the well bodily, holding her so tightly he knew he must be in danger of crushing a couple of her ribs.

She chuckled softly and worked her arms free to wrap them around his neck. "I missed you too," she murmured, and at that he started kissing her face, her neck, her lips, everywhere he could reach without letting her go. She laughed again, holding him a little tighter.

"Dammit Kagome, what the hell took you so long?" he demanded, torn between relief and frustration.

"The well—it wouldn't let me through, all this time. I tried it, but it just wouldn't work."

"But then how—why now?"

She tilted his face towards hers and looked him in the eye. "I promised you I'd find a way to get back to you, didn't I? I promised that after I finished school, I would come here, to be with you. I guess…the well heard that promise."

He still couldn't quite believe it. After three long years of living with no more than a picture and a voice in his memory, believing that there would never be any more, she was back—she was here again, solid in his arms. "And you…you did. You came back…to be with me?"

She tiled her head to the side and gave him a slightly wry smile. "How many times do I have to say it before you'll believe me? I'll always be by your side, Inuyasha…"

He kissed her again ardently; that was all he needed to hear.


	4. Grown Up

**Author's Note:** Spoilers for the end of the series, just FYI. This is sort of an expansion on Kagome's little monologue in the middle of the last chapter, mixed with a few other thoughts I've had at various points in the series. I'm not sure I'm totally happy with it, but it is what it is (grin). Anyway, it was first posted to LJ's iyissekiwa community on June 25, 2008, where it won third place for #54: Chink Theme. Word Count: 250

**Grown Up**

I knew he would come for me.

I knew he would follow me. I knew he would protect me. I knew he would save me.

It was he who woke me from the dream of my old life, into the darkness. It was for want of him that I refused to give in. But when the jewel told me that he would not come, that no one would come, that I was alone…I was afraid.

I heard his voice calling to me, and I knew he was there, that I could be strong and resist the darkness.

But in that moment between the dream and the reality, when he was not there, I saw the truth within myself. I saw him walking away, off to find her, leaving me behind. I saw him telling me nothing had happened, his face like a lie. I saw his eyes the color of blood, blind to me, unreachable. I saw an empty well, layers of dirt and years separating him from me, and me from him. And for a moment, I was a child again, and it wasn't he that I wanted; I wanted my mother.

He found me, and I found myself. I returned home, and he was taken from me once more. Time has passed, and I've come to understand: I've always wanted him. But I was not ready to accept him. I was not ready to accept myself. I was, at heart, still a child.

Today…I am ready.


	5. Coming Soon

**Author's Note:** Lol…well, this was my wacky, 2 a.m. entry to iyissekiwa's "Spin-Off" Special Challenge, commemorating the end of the manga. Won third place, too (--grin--). Anyway, it was first posted to LJ on June 23, 2008. Word Count: 168

Enjoy!

**Coming Soon**

Black screen. From out of the nothingness, a deep, intense voice speaks…

In a world where demons run amok, and schoolgirls travel through time with pink bicycles and backpacks full of cup ramen…

Where time is mutable, space is infinite, and power is the only currency…

The most evil, bad entity ever to have eluded the kami by coming into existence on the face of the earth…

Has just been destroyed by all the good guys. So, really things are pretty peaceful, come to think of it.

_But_, nonetheless…

One being will take it upon himself…

Despite the risk of great personal injury…

To stand up…

Be counted…

And fight for what he believes in…

Which basically amounts to annoying the hell…dramatic pause……out of _everybody_.

Cue high-impact glimpses of action sequences, and thunderous, driving music. Cut to logo in bright green block letters, with a background of blue flame.

_Jaken: Interdimensional Toad of Mystery_

Coming, Thanksgiving 2008…

Do you have what it takes…to handle the toad?


	6. Like Water For

**Author's Note:** Well, this is sort of a parody/crossover piece—the cross will become quite clear when you read it. I couldn't help myself; it was written for Issekiwa's #55 Water Theme, and the theme just kept leading me right back to the same place… (--grin--) Word Count: 249

**Like Water For…**

"Inuyasha, si-mph!"

"Oh no you don't," he warned, slapping a hand firmly over her mouth.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him and then glanced around for a mode of retaliation. There was a bucket of water sitting next to the campfire, and she snatched it up, eyeing him threateningly.

He glared back at her with a warning. "Don't you dare…"

That was it—he'd practically challenged her. She splashed the contents at him, soaking him from head to toe.

But a moment later, both of them gaped in confusion at the result, their argument forgotten.

He had shrunk several inches. Not only that, but his long, white head of hair had transformed into a thick red mop ending in a pigtail at his neck—and if Kagome's eyes and Inuyasha's bewildered hands weren't much mistaken…he now had breasts.

"What the fuck…?" he mumbled, staring dumbly down at his chest. Even his voice had changed. He sounded like he'd inhaled helium or something.

"Wo da airen!!" a female voice shrieked, and a buxom, purple-haired blur tackled Inuyasha to the ground, where the two of them rolled around in a strange embrace, Inuyasha desperate to free himself, and the woman determined to cling to him.

"Ranma-sama!"

"Ran-chan!"

"Ranma no baka!!"

Three more voices called out as three more strange women appeared and joined the fray.

"Huh," Kagome muttered, bemused, watching Inuyasha being beaten to a pulp with affection. "Well, I guess this puts the whole Kikyo thing in perspective, doesn't it…?"

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**A/N:** Yes, yes, I know Kodachi ("Ranma-sama!") is not aware that the wretched pigtailed girl is actually her beloved Ranma. Chalk it up to creative license… (--grin--) Oh, and the title comes from one of the old VHS releases of the OAV episodes. One of the volumes was called "Like Water For Ranma," and for some reason that always stuck in my head (--shrugs--).


	7. Close Enough

**Author's Note:** This one was written for iyficcontest's Week 150: Fireworks Theme, and it won first place. It was first posted to LJ on July 2, 2008. Word Count: 250

**Close Enough**

"_I want to be kissed. And not just any old kiss—a kiss that makes my entire body sing with rapture, makes fireworks explode behind my eyes…"_

"That's bullshit," Inuyasha grumbled, looking skeptically at the sappy red-head on the TV.

"What is?" Kagome asked, glancing over from her end of the couch.

"That whole fireworks thing—that'd never happen. It didn't when I kissed—" He cut himself off just in the knick of time, darting a fearful look at Kagome and flattening his ears to his skull in unconscious preparation for a "sit."

He could feel her eyes narrowed upon him, but the command never came. Instead, she asked in a coldly casual voice, "Kissed who?"

"Nobody…"

"Oh come off it. Like I don't know you were talking about Ki—"

In sheer desperation to nip this argument in the bud, he dove across the couch and crushed his lips against hers. Unfortunately, since she backed away from his charging form instinctively, he was forced to overshoot slightly, and at the same moment he reached her he whacked the top of his head against the table lamp, sending it flying. As he pulled back from the kiss, blinking at her stunned face, points of light flickered like fireflies in his vision. "Huh," he muttered, frowning as he rubbed his bruised head. "That's weird. I guess I was wrong…"

Kagome snickered. "I don't think that's quite what she meant."

He shrugged and moved in to kiss her again. "Close enough…"


	8. A Matter of Size

**Author's Note:** Alright, this short-short was originally posted to iyhedonism on July 12, 2008, for their Week 11 theme: Inuyasha's Cock. As you can probably tell from the previous sentence, it contains explicit material—so if you are offended or made uncomfortable by such material, please consider yourself warned and do not read it. That being said, it's only 150 words long, it's primarily a humor fic, and it's not particularly graphic or hard-core—so at best I think this could be termed "smut light" (--grin--). I don't go to the smut well often myself (if ever), but iyhed came out with a double dog dare to all the lurkers, so I just couldn't pass it up…lol…

**A Matter of Size**

Inuyasha released a tortured groan as Kagome trailed agonizing kisses down his abdomen. His aching cock strained against his hakama, begging for attention, but she smiled coyly, carefully avoiding the obvious bulge.

"Kagome…please…" he panted, feeling her tug loose the ties at his waist and brush aside the folds of rough firerat to release him at last.

"Hm," she purred, head tilted, contemplating his hard length. "That's funny. It's smaller than I thought it would be."

His head jerked up, eyes wide, alarmed. "What?!"

But her eyes gleamed impishly. "Just kidding."

The warm, wet heat of her mouth engulfed him, and his head fell back, his entire body on fire. He writhed beneath her ministrations, helpless in the throes of pleasure, until finally he came powerfully into her mouth.

Breathless in the aftermath, too weak even to lift his eyelids, he mustered a wry smirk. "That big enough for you…?"

* * *

**A/N:** Lol—well, it has often occurred to me once that in lemons Kagome sometimes remarks (usually in her head) on how surprisingly large Inuyasha's dick is. I thought it would be funny if her first reaction to it were the opposite… (--grin--)


	9. Waiting

**Author's Note:** Hadn't done one of these in a couple of weeks, so I thought I'd dash this one off for iyficcontest's Week 153: Delay Theme (first posted to LJ on August 8, 2008). Amazingly, it came out to exactly 250 words on the first try. Guess I'm getting better at the word count thing…

EDIT: Just FYI, this was inspired by one of the panels in Chapter 558 of the manga; so if you haven't read through the end, it may not make complete sense...

**Waiting**

He was waiting.

He wasn't sure what for, exactly, to be totally honest. She was gone. He could not reach her. She could not—or perhaps, would not—come back. Perhaps he was waiting for someone who would never return. Perhaps he was waiting for death. Perhaps he was waiting for his next life to begin. Perhaps he was simply waiting to find out what he was waiting for.

He'd always hated to be kept waiting—and he had done a lot of it in his life.

He had waited impatiently for Kagome to return from her "tests."

He had waited furiously to be released from darkness, to resume his quest for strength.

He had waited hopelessly for acceptance.

He had waited forlornly, long ago, for an early death.

And now he was waiting again. The stars shone in the darkness overhead, cool night breezes rustling in the grass at his feet—and yet the world stood still for him, waiting with him, breathing in and out, passing seconds and minutes and hours until the moment when life would resume. This time was different somehow. He still didn't know what he was waiting for, but somehow he trusted beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would come, eventually, whatever it was. He had lived so much of his life at the end of all things, and now he knew he was at the beginning. A new beginning. This time, he didn't mind it all so much.

He could wait.


	10. Better Than Ramen

**Author's Note:** This was written for iyficcontest's Week 151: Favorite Food Theme, and was first posted on July 12, 2008 (Word Count: 388). Btw, a grateful nod to Knittingknots's short-short of the same name, which unconsciously inspired this one—I didn't realize until someone pointed it out to me that I had actually read hers at some point in the past, and must have been thinking of it when this came to mind (--grin--). I promise it's not completely stolen though—you'll see…

**Better Than Ramen**

"Mm—oden, definitely," Kagome answered, stirring the warm, curly noodles in her little Styrofoam cup thoughtfully. "It's been my favorite ever since I was little. My mom's is the best—she makes it for us every year on my birthday. Fantastic."

"Sounds lovely," Sango agreed.

"I'll have her make some for all of us sometime."

"Would you? I've never been much of a cook myself, so it's always nice to have one of your home-cooked meals, Kagome."

"Yeah," she said with a wry smile, lifting her cup in a small salute, "man—and woman—cannot live on instant ramen alone, right?"

Sango laughed, nodding.

"Alright, Inuyasha," Miroku said, turning the group's attention to the hanyou sitting across the fire, "your turn: What is _your_ favorite thing in the world to eat?"

"That's easy," Shippo chimed in. "Everybody knows that—it's ramen."

"No it ain't," he scoffed, indignant, and everyone turned to look at him in surprise.

"It isn't?" Kagome said, looking puzzled.

He shrugged. "Used to be—but it's not anymore."

"Really?" Sango sounded equally baffled.

"Then what is?" Miroku inquired.

His gaze darted to each of them in turn, face growing redder by the second, until finally he buried himself in his dinner, eyes fixed on the ground. When everyone continued to stare expectantly, he cast a sidelong look at Kagome, twitching his eyebrows meaningfully.

All of a sudden she understood. "Ooh…" she murmured slowly, eyes widening in comprehension. Her face flushed even brighter than Inuyasha's, and she cleared her throat, dropping her gaze to her noodles as well.

Sango and Miroku exchanged a look of shrewd awareness, saying in unison, "Ooh…"

"Wait, I don't get it," Shippo pouted, looking from one to another of the adults around the campfire in consternation, "what is it he likes to eat?"

Miroku patted the kit indulgently on the top of the head. "Don't worry about it, Shippo. Inuyasha will explain it to you when you're older."

"Hey!" the hanyou protested, Kagome snorting into her cup.

"But if it's better than ramen, I want to try it," Shippo whined. "Why can't I have some now?"

Kagome and Inuyasha both choked on their noodles, but Miroku merely continued to smile placidly as he answered: "I don't think you'd like it very much at your age. Let's just say…it's an acquired taste."


	11. Here in the Dark

**Author's Note:** This one was written for iyhed's Inunonymous Challenge ("Angst" Theme), so it does involve some adult content. No likey, no readie (--grin--). Still, nothing particularly shocking or graphic (in fact, it's probably tamer than the last iyhed piece I posted here, all things considered), so it's relatively safe. It was originally posted to iyhedonism on August 28, 2008. Word Count: 749

**Here in the Dark**

It was a cruel irony. Here she was, living her most coveted fantasy—and all she could think about was _her_.

Even as he kissed her neck and caressed her hip, sliding gently into her, the name echoed in Kagome's head. He had only mentioned it in passing during dinner—and yet, was it just coincidence? Was it happenstance that he had come to her at last tonight, of all nights? She had tried to ignore it—but with each thrust of his hips, the feel of him inside her, the sound of his hitched breath in her ear became something graceless, excruciating, tainted by the feeling that she wasn't really there. Her body had been possessed by another in his eyes—and all she could do was wait for it to end.

A tear spilled over, and she felt him freeze, pulling back suddenly to look her in the face. She only caught a glimpse of his concerned expression before she turned away, squeezing her eyes shut and wishing she were anywhere but here. "Did I hurt you?" he faltered.

She shook her head, but still couldn't bring herself to look at him. It took everything she had to keep herself from sobbing.

"What—what's wrong? Why are you crying?" he panted, panicked.

Her chest tightened, and she struggled to keep control as a few more tears leaked free. "It's…n-nothing," she managed.

"Fuck that—tell me what's wrong."

She breathed what might have been a laugh if she hadn't felt like she was dying inside—but it calmed her somewhat, enough to whisper, "You…were thinking of her, weren't you."

There was a beat of absolute stillness, and she knew she was right.

But then he gripped the sides of her face and forced her to look at him, eyes sparking with restrained fury. "How the fuck can you say that? Goddammit, do you have any idea—I mean, where the hell could you get such a crazy—you really think I would—"

"What, so you're trying to tell me it's not true?"

"Of course it's not!"

"How can I ever know that?"

"Because I'm here with you, Kagome! Only you—no one else. God-fucking-dammit, there's no one else in the world that makes me feel the way you do, and if you don't believe me then I'll just have to prove it to you."

"How—" But she broke off in surprise, her eyes falling closed when he began moving again, in and out with long, slow strokes.

"Look at me, Kagome," he demanded huskily, running his thumbs over her cheekbones, and she opened her eyes to find his fixed steadily on hers. Everything she needed to know was there, things that would have taken years to put into words—and even then the words would have fallen short. Slowly the feeling of suffocation eased, the ghost of her predecessor fading into the darkness. The warmth of his skin against hers was comforting, welcoming, and she only wanted to draw him deeper inside her.

With each ardent thrust she felt the muscles of his back contracting beneath her fingers—and as warmth pooled within her, she tightened her arms around him, wanting to touch every part of him. His breathing grew rougher, but he never took his eyes from hers, even as he brushed his lips against her mouth in a clumsy kiss. "Kagome," he panted against her chin, and she could see naked desire and something like awe flickering in those golden irises. Overwhelmed with their beauty, she felt a tear slip from the corner of her eye again—but she reassured him by dragging him down against her and kissing him deeply, lovingly. The warmth built between them, his pace quickening, and at last he sent her spilling over the edge, following her into oblivion as she gasped his name against his lips.

As they lay there in the dark, her fingers tangled in his hair as he dozed against her chest, a contented calm caressed her damp skin like a cooling breeze. He nuzzled her shoulder in his sleep, and a smile curved her lips. For so long, she had devoted herself to mending his damaged heart, piece by piece. It had taken all the strength she possessed to do it, hoping that at least one day he would be happy, even if it couldn't be with her. But somehow, in all that time, she had never expected that he might return the favor.

* * *

**A/N:** The title is a line from the Bonnie Raitt song "I Can't Make You Love Me." If I was gonna write pure angst, I figured I'd go whole hog…


	12. Keeping Warm

**Author's Notes:** This short-short was written for iyissekiwa's #59 Cold Theme, and it won first place. It was originally posted on August 27, 2008. Word Count: 219

**Keeping Warm**

Kagome was freezing.

She groaned weakly as her violent shivers woke her from sleep to discover the reason: all the covers were gone. Didn't take a detective to figure out where they were either. Teeth chattering at the loss of stored warmth from the futon and the wintery draft that seeped through the thin walls of their hut, she turned over, grabbed the edge of the giant pile of blankets next to her, and yanked.

_Ah—much better_, she thought, snuggling down into the generously pre-warmed covers.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Inuyasha complained sleepily, groping for the pilfered blankets.

"You stole all the covers again," she mumbled into her pillow. "I was cold."

"Well now I'm cold."

"Tough luck."

"We need a bigger blanket."

"We'll find one in the morning."

"So what am I supposed to do now? Freeze to death?"

"Oh come on, what ever happened to Mr. 'I don't need bandages for this spike through my chest'? Deal with it, big guy."

He grumbled, and she felt his movement through the futon as he shifted around—and then an arm snaked its way beneath the covers and around her waist, and a familiar mouth nibbled at her shoulder, his breath tickling her. "What're you doing?" she laughed.

He grinned against the nape of her neck. "Keeping warm…"

* * *

**A/N:** Always wanted to write a "blanket fic"… (--grin--)


	13. Of Mice and Hanyous

**Author's Note:** I got this idea when iyissekiwa did the "rebel" prompt, but I never got around to writing it…until a couple of weeks later, when iyficcontest used the same prompt (totally by coincidence) for Week 159. Here's to second chances! It was originally posted to iyfic on September 23, 2008, where it won second place. Word Count: 250

**Of Mice and Hanyous**

"But I'm hungry, wench!" Inuyasha complained.

Kagome stood her ground, not bothering to look at him as she carefully put away all but one of the six ramen containers he had taken from her bag. "It's going to be awhile before I have a chance to go home again—we need to make these last."

"Come _on_, Kagome," he whined, "we'll be back at the village in just a couple of days, and it's only the two of us. If we run out, I'll kill a fuckin' rabbit or something."

"If you're hungry, you can kill a rabbit now and have that with your ramen. But I'm not going to let you eat up all our food on the first day."

"Ka_gome_…"

"No, Inuyasha," she replied firmly, indicating that the conversation was over. When she got to her feet and walked over to collect the empty water bottles lying in a pile nearby, Inuyasha flicked a bitter gaze from her back to the yellow bag sitting just a foot to his right. Setting his jaw with determination, he watched her carefully as she stood, arms filled with water bottles, and headed off into the forest toward the stream to fill them.

The moment she disappeared into the foliage he seized his opportunity, lunging at the yellow bag. But before he could even start digging around inside it, Kagome's voice rang out from beyond the trees: "Sit, boy!"

_Wham!_

Sulking, Inuyasha grumbled into the dirt, "Damn. How does she do that…?"

* * *

**A/N:** I'm such a sucker for a childish Inuyasha…


	14. No Accounting for Taste

**Author's Note: **Wrote this one for Forthright's 3rd Annual Halloween Challenge—specifically the "Squeamish" theme. The word count is 267, and the original posting date is October 31, 2008.

**No Accounting for Taste**

It was nauseating. Just the scent of it made his stomach lurch with every inhalation, so much so that he found himself breathing laboriously through his mouth to avoid it. The way it oozed from the small opening like the remains of some kind of poisonous serpent ground into a thick paste, the way it glowed an almost radioactive orange, so bright it nearly hurt his eyes to look at it, and yet he couldn't seem to look away—he seriously thought he was going to hurl.

And then she popped it in her mouth and chewed.

"Ugh!" Inuyasha exclaimed, scandalized, and Kagome glanced over at him from her end of the couch curiously.

"What?" she murmured.

"Why the _hell_ would you put that stuff in your mouth?"

She tilted her head, giving him a bemused look. "Relax, Inuyasha. It's just Cheez Whiz…"

"That's supposed to be _cheese?_"

She rolled her eyes. "It _is_ cheese. Here," she squirted another snake of the putrid stuff onto a cracker and extended it to him, "try some."

Startled, he scrambled away from the defiled cracker so energetically that he slipped off the edge of the sofa and landed in an undignified heap on the floor. Kagome snorted at him and shook her head, popping the cracker in her own mouth instead with a shrug. "You know," she said as she swallowed, "I always knew you must have a weakness in there somewhere. I just never thought it would be spreadable cheese…"

Inuyasha pouted and turned away, remaining on the floor as though he had always intended to be there. "Feh."


	15. Lights Out

**Author's Note: **Another one for Forthright's Halloween Challenge. I'm afraid this one may have suffered a bit in editing (had to cut it down by about 200 words), but hopefully it still works. I'm sorta down to the wire, too… (*grin*)

Word Count: 500

Posted: October 31, 2008

**Lights Out**

Kagome had never been afraid of the dark. She had always been the responsible big sister who checked behind doors and under beds for "monsters" before turning out the lights so that Souta could fall asleep in peace. She had never been childish enough to believe in things like monsters and demons and ghosts.

Course that was before she'd found out they all actually existed—but that was beside the point.

Nonetheless, on this particular night she was having difficulty closing her eyes. The full moon cast a misty glow through the curtains, and the only other source of light in the room was the sinisterly scarlet numbers of the digital clock on her nightstand.

The curtain rustled in the fall breeze, and she snuggled deeper into her comforter. She had thought about closing the window, but uneasy as she was tonight she had decided to leave it cracked. Inuyasha wouldn't be able to hear her shouting for help from all the way on the other side of the well, but still…somehow it made her feel a little better.

She closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep—but the longer she lay there in silence, the more anxious she felt. Finally, heaving a sigh, she pushed back the covers and stood up. If she was going to get any sleep at all tonight, she would have to humor herself—so she set about inspecting the dark corners of her room. Bed, desk, dresser, drawers—nope, no monsters there. And then, just as she reached for the handle of the closet door, she heard a rustling noise.

Her heart raced, irrational fears flying from the back of her paranoid mind and into reality. Perhaps her instincts had been right after all. As quietly as possible, she picked up her bow and an arrow from the foot of her bed and, taking a breath, threw back the door, taking aim.

"Yikes!" Inuyasha yelped, dropping to the floor, out of the line of fire. "Watch it, will ya?"

Kagome sagged with relief, clutching a hand to her chest. "Inuyasha," she breathed. "What the hell are you doing in my closet? I thought you were back home?"

He lifted his head cautiously, but looked away almost immediately. "I…missed you, okay?"

She knelt, a touched smile curving her lips. "Well then why didn't you just tell me you were here?"

He shrugged. "Didn't want you to think I was _completely_ helpless without you."

Kagome grinned and teased, "Oh come on—that ship sailed ages ago. Come on out of there—you don't have to sleep in the closet."

His eyes flicked up to hers, his grin turning slightly wicked. "I've got a better idea." And before Kagome could so much as give a squeak of surprise, he snaked an arm around her waist and tugged her onto the pile of shoes and bags he was sitting on, shutting the door behind them and leaving them in complete darkness.

Neither one minded it in the least.


	16. Signs

**Author's Note:** First off, if you're looking for _Second Chances_ (the story that used to appear in this slot in the collection), go to my bio page—I decided to move it there, because it was really too long to be in a collection. It just felt out of place.

Second, this is a little piece that I wrote for some LJ contest somewhere (don't remember which), but that I never posted. Nothing spectacular, just short and sweet.

Rating: K

Word Count: 450

First Posted: September 12, 2010

**Signs**

Kagome stared into the bright campfire, her eyes searching the flames for any signs, any recognizable shapes.

_This is stupid_, she chided herself.

But still she stared.

Inuyasha was lying on his stomach on the grass a few feet away. He'd swiped a piece of notebook paper from Kagome's bag and was playing around with one of her Sharpies, scribbling random things across the blank page and marveling at how the thing never seemed to run out of ink. He glanced over at Kagome, doing a double-take when he noticed how entranced she seemed to be by the fire. "What are you doing?" he asked, incredulous.

"Looking at the fire," she replied.

"What are you looking for?"

"What do you mean?" she dodged nonchalantly.

"Well, you're kinda staring at it like you're trying to see something, or something."

Kagome sighed and replied sheepishly. "I'm not _really_ looking for anything. I just…heard this superstition once that if you stare into the fire for long enough, you'll see the initials of the person you're going to marry."

Inuyasha frowned at that, suddenly slightly annoyed. "Feh. That's stupid." He recapped the Sharpie and stuck it back in her bag, rolling to his side to crumple up the piece of notebook paper he'd been doodling on and toss it into the fire.

"I know," Kagome said, shifting her weight off of her heels so that she was resting on her hip on the ground. "But I've always been curious, you know?"

"But the whole thing's stupid," Inuyasha grumbled, now lying on his back with both hands behind his head. "I mean, whaddaya need to know a thing like that for anyway?"

"No reason," Kagome replied absently. Her eyes had fallen on the crumpled ball of paper watching the flames lick at it, turning the edges to brown and black and fiery orange as it gradually gobbled it up. When a few layers had been eaten away, she caught a few glimpses of the black pen marks on the inside—and for just a moment, she was able to make out a single whole character: Inu.

The last of the paper blackened and turned to ash—but Kagome grinned to herself and glanced away.

"What?" Inuyasha said, peering at her suspiciously.

"Nothing," she replied easily, getting up and dusting herself off. "You were right, it's a stupid superstition."

Grabbing her big yellow bag, Kagome headed down to the river to get changed for bed. Inuyasha watched her out of the corner of his eye until he was sure she was gone—and then he scrambled up close to the fire, peering into the flames.

_This is stupid_, he chided himself.

But still he stared.


	17. Ties That Bind

**Author's Note:** This one is thanks to J Luc Pitard for the inspiration. If you're not familiar with the concept of "tying" or "knotting" with respect to canine copulation (which I wasn't either, until J Luc Pitard mentioned it in a review—thanks again!), well…you will be, soon. (--grin--)

Warning: As you can probably guess by now, this fic contains adult content. But it's mostly in the service of humor…mostly…

**Ties That Bind**

Inuyasha kissed her thoroughly, and it took everything she had not to immediately melt into his embrace.

"You're not supposed to see me before the—"

He interrupted her halfhearted protest with another ardent kiss.

"—wedding…" she breathed. But she was kissing him again before she'd even finished the word. Her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers lacing through his hair, as his hands ran down her sides to caress her hips, drawing her tighter against him. He wore only his dark wedding hakama, and she could feel the muscles of his chest against her breasts through the thin material of her robe. She could feel something else as well, rather lower.

He gave a soft moan when she swayed against it, murmuring into her mouth, "Don't care. Don't wanna wait…"

"But we've—" _kiss_ "—waited this long…" she pointed out, though her fingertips caressing the edge of his sensitive ear belied her objection.

He thrust his hips against hers in answer, making her gasp and kiss him all the more hungrily.

His kisses traveled down the side of her throat, and he pushed aside the collar of her robe, exposing her shoulder and one soft, round breast. "Mama's expecting us downstairs in forty-five minutes and—ah!"

His teeth closed teasingly over her nipple, making her head fall back in ecstasy

"—still have to get…dressed…oh…"

Somehow they had fallen back onto her bed, Inuyasha on top of her, still worshipping her breast, pushing her robe aside a little further until it covered virtually nothing. Her hands found their way to his waist and fumbled with the knot at the front of his hakama, shivering at the thought of feeling him against her, inside of her, _finally_. He untied the belt of her robe as well, pushing the rest of the troublesome fabric aside and kicking his loosened hakama off onto the floor. Then he was fully on top of her once more, his weight pressing down on her, the feel of flesh against bare flesh stealing her breath.

He looked at her for a moment, a flicker of wonder crossing his expression, then kissed her again lovingly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and shifted her hips underneath him invitingly. He gladly accepted the invitation.

The feeling of him filling her was like nothing she'd ever imagined. There was a slight pain, but it soon passed, eased by the notion that it was him, and only him. His breathing hitched as he slid deep inside her, then pulled back slightly and thrust forward with a grunt.

As his thrusts built up a steady rhythm, she found herself rolling her hips in time, coming to meet him. "Kagome…" he breathed, and the sound of his voice in her ear sent a bolt of pleasure through her, eliciting a soft moan of response.

The heat was building between them, and she clutched at his shoulder blades with her fingertips, her rocking becoming more desperate with each stroke. She wanted…she wanted…oh, she wanted this, more of this. His thrusts came faster, harder, his muscles tightening against her, each thrust accompanied by a little grunt of need, until finally something broke inside of her, and she gasped her release. A moment later he had stiffened as well, giving a sound somewhere between a moan and a cry as he pulsed inside of her, again and again.

When his eyes slid back into focus, he looked down at her again, the awe in his expression now accompanied by a sort of unbridled joy. She was his. He was hers. She smiled back at him, drawing him down for another sweet, gentle kiss.

When they had both had their fill, he moved to pull out of her.

"Ah!" Kagome inhaled in surprise at the odd tugging feeling.

A frown crossed Inuyasha's face, and he tried again.

"Ow!" Kagome said at the second, sharper tug. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to…you know…get out," he mumbled awkwardly, starting to look a little worried now.

"Ow. Ow. _Ouch_—cut it out, will ya?" Kagome admonished, slapping him on the shoulder. "What's going on down there?"

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, though it didn't quite smother the growing panic in his voice. "I don't know, I'm—I'm stuck."

"You're…_what?_"

"I'm stuck," he repeated. They stared at each other wide-eyed as the true horror and potential mortification of this situation dawned. They were supposed to be getting married—in front of her friends and family—in roughly half an hour. Visions of 911 calls, emergency medical team visits, and surgical separations danced in their heads.

"You can't be," Kagome protested, starting to panic a little herself. "You can't be stuck. Oh my god, this can't be happening…oh my god…"

"Hey," he grumbled, starting to get a little offended, "there are worse things you could have stuck inside you, you know."

She rolled her eyes and cuffed him around the ear.

"Ouch!"

"Will you stop joking around?" she growled. "I love you, okay, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I wasn't exactly planning for us to be _literally_ joined at the hip!"

"Okay, okay," he groused, rubbing his abused ear, "so what do we do about it? Call your mother?"

"No!!" she said quickly, making him jump slightly.

"Well what then?"

"How should I know? It's your…you know. I mean, isn't there anything we can do to…un-stick it?"

"How should I know? It's not like I've done this before…"

"Well you must have…_experimented_ before," she said awkwardly, a blush spreading over her cheeks.

"Oh, crap," he groaned, looking away in embarrassment. "This is not happening…"

Kagome covered her face with her hands—this wasn't getting them anywhere. "God, what time is it?" She tried to crane her neck to see the clock on her nightstand, but couldn't from this angle. "Inuyasha, can you see the clock?"

"Huh? Oh," he squinted at it. "Four…twenty-five, I think? Is that when the long hand is pointing at the seven?"

"Oh, damn—no, that's four _thirty_-five. We have to be downstairs in twenty minutes…oh _god_…"

"Well…" he fumbled, "maybe they're running late…?"

Kagome groaned. "No chance…ji-chan's a regular slave-driver when it comes to anything having to do with the shrine. Oh, shit…maybe we should call Mama. But she's probably out on the grounds—can you see out the window?"

He pushed his torso back and stretched his neck upwards, leaning out as far as he could without overbalancing. "No good. All I can see is trees from this angle."

"Well, what if you, like, pick me up and walk over there?"

He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

She shrugged helplessly. "Unless you have any better ideas."

He didn't.

It took a bit of fumbling, but she hooked her arms around his neck, and he swung his legs over onto the ground so he could kneel on the floor, and then he was able to just stand up, keeping his arms hooked under her bottom to support her.

"Keep out of sight!" she admonished as he took a step toward the window.

He rolled his eyes. "How can I keep out of sight and look out the window at the same time?"

"Just sorta hide behind the curtains—or at least hide me."

He did as she bade, edging over toward the window while trying to stay out of the sightlines until he could free one of his hands and hold up the curtain to block their bodies from view.

"Are you sure the curtain is covering? I don't want my butt hanging out the window. Oh my god, this is so ridiculous…" Kagome moaned into his shoulder, keeping her face hidden.

He glanced over at the back of her head, giving an apologetic smile that she couldn't see, and then peaked over the edge of the curtain to look down at the shrine grounds. "Uh…Kagome?"

"Hm?"

"I don't think we're going to be able to call your mother. There's like fifty or sixty people down there already."

"Damn. Well then what should we do? We can't go down there like _this_…"

"I don't know…"

There was a moment of silence as they both racked their brains.

"Well…" Kagome said finally, "maybe if you just…relax, or something."

"Relax?" he repeated doubtfully.

"Yeah. Just lie back down on the bed and…try to think of something else…and maybe it'll go away."

He walked back over to the bed and sat down, then turned so he was lying on his back and Kagome was sitting astride him, watching him hopefully. He stared at the ceiling, trying to think of other things—but it was difficult to ignore the naked and beautiful woman (who he also just happened to be head-over-heels in love with) sitting on top of him.

"What am I supposed to think about?"

"I dunno, anything—baseball."

"Base-what?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, casting about for something more in his realm of knowledge. "What about…rice planting, or…chopping down trees, or…I dunno. What do you do in the feudal era when I'm not around."

He glanced away, slightly self-conscious. "Not much…" Heaving a sigh, he tried harder to come up with something to distract himself.

"Is it working?" she asked hopefully.

He gave her a wry look. "It's not easy to relax when you're…you know…still like that. And sitting there."

She giggled and turned to fish her discarded robe out from underneath the blankets, using it to cover herself. "Better?"

"Yes…and no."

She grinned at that, leaning down to kiss him gently.

"Kagome?" he said when she pulled back to look at him. His hands were resting casually on her thighs, though there was a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Hm?" she replied, tucking her hair behind her ear so it didn't hang in his face.

"I'm sorry. About this whole…thing. I really didn't know this was going to happen."

She smiled again and stroked a hand over his cheek. "I know. Don't worry about it, Inuyasha—we always knew there would be things to get used to. And like you said, it could be worse."

"So…you still want to marry me?"

She drew a breath in surprise, before her smile turned even brighter, lit with affection. "Of course I still want to marry you!" she reassured him, laughing a little bit. "Like it or not, Inuyasha, you're stuck with me. In more ways than one, apparently…"

Grinning sheepishly, he drew her down for another kiss—not a hungry, passionate kiss like before, but a soft, "I'm really glad you're here" kiss. They rolled to the side and shifted to a more comfortable position, so that he was above her once more, though only partly. When he leaned back to push her hair out of her face and gaze down at her, they both realized at once that they had managed to separate without noticing it.

They glanced down at their now unattached bodies, then back up at each other, and laughed.

Kagome shrugged, still grinning. "That was easy…"

* * *

**A/N:** Please excuse any…anatomical inaccuracies that may have occurred (--grin--). Like I said, I know virtually nothing about dog mating aside from a paragraph or two on Wikipedia that I read to write this. Anyway, he is only _half_ dog-demon, after all, so that should account for any discrepancies, right?

Just go with it… ;)

Anyway, a little mushier and more fleshed out than my usual crack!fic, I know, but something about this little…dilemma just seemed funnier to me if the rest of the story was actually sorta romantic. And I like the idea of romance and farce going hand in hand in Kagome and Inuyasha's relationship. Guess I watch too many sitcoms (or too much Ranma ½)… (--grin--)


	18. Stupid Questions

**Author's Note:** This was my entry for IYHed's Week 68 prompt, "You Named Your Dick _What?_"…so it's rated M (for safety—it's really not that shocking). It's also a perfect drabble (100 words exactly, as required by the prompt) and an AU, just a heads up. It didn't win anything, alas—it was up against some pretty stiff competition… (--grin--)

First posted to IYHed on Sept. 16, 2009.

**Stupid Questions**

The scene was taking forever to shoot; Kagome feared if they didn't finish soon, they would lose the light. Not to mention a few other things…

Inuyasha and Miroku were both being "serviced" for the fourth time while Sango stifled a yawn, reclining naked on the carpet. Sesshoumaru, however, was still hard as a rock.

As the crew rearranged the lights, Kagome hung her headset around her neck and sidled over to him. "Alright, I have to ask," she murmured. "How on _earth_ are you keeping that thing up?"

Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow. "There's a reason they call it Fluffy."

* * *

**A/N:** Now for the "explaining my jokes" portion of the evening…

Apparently the fact that people who help male porn stars "prepare" for their scenes are called "fluffers" is not universally-known. I discovered this after a couple of the people who read my entry answered with blank, confused stares. Never would have guessed that I, of all people, knew more than the average person about porno-movie production. Should I be concerned…?


	19. Rainy Season

**Author's Note:** This was written for Firsttweak Prompt 7: Wet, where it won 1st Place (yay!). It was originally posted on September 22, 2009. Genre: General (post-manga). Rating: K. Word Count: 283.

**Rainy Season**

Kagome pulled her plain white kosode a little tighter as she sat curled up in the doorway of the hut, staring out at the wet, dreary landscape. They'd been cooped up inside for days as the rain poured down, turning the ground to mud and filling the air with a perpetual mist. Clouds melted to the blurry, dark silhouettes of trees, to the shadowy, rain-battered ground. Even night and day seemed to run together, barely distinct from one another. Everything was cold and damp; she could feel the mist condensing on the back of her neck like a cool sweat. At times like this, Kagome found herself thinking longingly of the many, many things she had left behind.

Television…washing machines…central heating…hairdryers…

She watched a bead of water dripping metronomically from the eaves and breathed a small sigh, pulling her knees to her chest.

_Drip_, _drip_, _drip_, _drip_…

A sloppy snuffling sound drew her attention, and she glanced back over at the sleeping form sprawled out across the futon. She had to bite her lip to suppress a smile.

As she looked back out at the rain, the smile spread quietly nonetheless, unnoticed. There was something strangely clean and rejuvenating about the hazy air as she breathed it in, now that she thought about it. The deep blue cast was like a long twilight, waiting for the dawn.

Catching a chill, Kagome stood up, crossing back to the futon and crawling beneath the covers, readjusting her husband's arm so that it fell around her waist. It tightened naturally around her, palm flattening against her stomach, his thumb stroking comfortingly. She smiled, eyes closed, and covered it with her own. Perhaps the sun could wait.


	20. A Merry Little Christmas

**Author's Note:** This piece was written for Caitriona's "Get Back in the Mood" Contest (*grin*). I actually started writing a completely different piece, and got about 1000 words into it before I concluded that it was complete crap—so I decided to change tacks and go with something a bit more up my street…

**A Merry Little Christmas**

"You did so," he accused as they stumbled out of the cold and into the abandoned hut.

"I did not."

"_You did so!_"

"Inuyasha, I did _not_ push you into the river! You tripped!" Kagome protested, dropping her sodden pack to the floor and unloading her (mercifully dry) blanket and pajamas.

"The hell I did," he spat, beginning to shed his wet clothes, "it was fucking _freezing_ in there, wench!"

"Well you wouldn't have gotten wet at all if your big thick skull hadn't broken through the damn ice! And anyway, _you_ were the one who dropped me in the snowbank!" She threw her cold, damp shirt to the floor and yanked her pajama top on over her head.

"Ah-_ha!_ So you admit that you pushed me!"

"I admit nothing of the sort."

"Damn stubborn wench—at least _mine_ was an accident."

"_Ha!_"

"Fine, fine, you think whatever you want, but just shut up about it already—I'm going to bed."

"Me too," she replied—and they both reached for the blanket.

Inuyasha looked back in annoyance when he felt her yank at the other corner of the folded blanket. "Leggo," he grumbled.

"It's _my_ blanket! _You_ let go," she insisted, giving another determined tug.

"Well I'm the one who got soaked to the bone in a frozen river!"

"Oh, and whose fault was that?"

"Yours!"

"It was _not!_"

"It was _too!_"

"It was not—and who was it that dropped _who_ in a _snowdrift?_"

"Oh for—will you shut up about the fucking snowdrift already?"

"Not until you let go of the blanket."

"Well I'm not letting go."

"Well neither am I!"

They glared at each other for a moment, at an impasse—and then, as if on cue, they both tugged as hard as they could. Inuyasha's hanyou strength gave him the advantage in terms of power, but Kagome's smaller form allowed her to wrap her arms tightly around her end of the blanket and refuse to be shaken off. Soon she had dragged him to the floor and the two of them were wrestling around on the hard, unfinished wood, scratching and kicking and biting.

"Ouch—Inuyasha, let go of my hair!"

"Watch your goddamn knees, wench!"

"Let _go!_"

"_You_ let go!"

The battle continued until they were so tangled up in the blanket itself that it seemed unlikely that they would ever extricate themselves. Both panting from exertion, they shot twin glares at each other over their shoulders, each challenging the other to give in. Finally Kagome heaved a heavy sigh. "Fine—we'll share it, alright?"

"Fine," Inuyasha grumbled, jerking his legs out of the knotted blanket and trying to untangle the rest of his body. Kagome did the same, tugging back on the blanket every time he tried to yank it further over to his side. After a mild reprise of their earlier tug of war, they finally settled themselves on the rough wooden floor, back to back, with the blanket draped evenly over both of them. Neither one said goodnight.

Kagome tried to put her anger out of her mind so that she could get some much-needed sleep, but the sound of Inuyasha's breathing just behind her grated on her every nerve. Still, she focused on tracing the patterns in the wood beams with her eyes and tried to drown out the sound by listening to the wind. Her mother had promised her homemade cookies and piping hot cocoa if she'd decided to stay at home over the holidays, but _no_—she'd just _had_ to get back to Inuyasha and go gallivanting off on another wild shard chase, and look where it had landed them.

It really was nasty out there—it was lucky they had found this little hut, otherwise they both probably would have frozen to death, soaking wet as they were. The image of Inuyasha emerging from the icy river, drenched to the bone and pissed as hell, and shaking himself out like a dog crossed her mind, and she had to stifle a snort of laughter. But just then she felt a slight tremor in the blanket and realized Inuyasha was shivering. The smile died away, and her anger went with it.

Kagome rolled over to her back, looking up at the ceiling. "Inuyasha?" she said quietly, contritely.

He grunted.

"I'm…sorry I pushed you into the river."

His ear flicked around at that, but he gave no other indication that he had heard her. Just as she was about to roll over again and try to sleep, he shifted as well, settling on his back beside her.

"Sorry I dropped you in the snowdrift."

She glanced over at him. He flicked his eyes down to hers, and then back away—but even from that brief connection, she could see that he meant it.

"It's okay," she replied, giving him a small smile. She scooted a little closer to him, resting her cheek against his shoulder, and their hands found each other underneath the blanket. "Merry Christmas, Inuyasha."

"Merry Christmas, Kagome."

* * *

**A/N:** Not sure exactly where this came from—always been fascinated by the old "Blanket Scenario," so I like to try to find ways to use it with some kind of a twist. Or at least in some way that doesn't follow the usual route of "cold/injury—abandoned hut—blanket—sex." My previous attempt (_Keeping Warm_) was probably cleverer (at least I thought so…lol), but who can resist a round of petty bickering between these two…?


	21. Dark House

**Author's Note:** I started this for one of the LJ challenges several months back (don't remember which one, but I think the prompt was "Power"…thought my interpretation was pretty clever…lol…), but I didn't get around to finishing it in time. I ended up finishing it and just posting it to my own LJ in December 09 (people were complaining about an overabundance of angst and a lack of fluff in the fandom, so I thought it might cheer them up… *grin*), and I was just thinking it ought to go up here as well.

**Dark House**

"Kagome—this is amazing!"

"Mm-hm," she murmured distractedly, flipping another page of her textbook, not looking up at the clatters and clangs of the television that had Inuyasha so captivated. He had it turned up so loud that it nearly drowned out the sound of the rain pounding against the windows—she was amazed he could stand it, with such sensitive ears.

"No seriously, you gotta see this! This is awesome! Who the hell are these guys anyway?"

She sighed, looking up at last. Inuyasha was sitting on the floor, his nose barely six inches from the television screen, which was crowded with a flurry of moving bodies and weapons, everything a dusty orange color. Frowning in concentration, she recognized a bearded Russell Crowe as he flitted across the screen, screaming and brandishing a sword. "They're gladiators," she replied, returning her gaze to her book. "Back in Ancient Rome—on the other side of the world from here—these guys used to fight each other in a big stadium for other people to watch. It was sort of their version of theatre…except a lot messier."

Inuyasha glanced back at her in confusion. "Wait—so you mean this thing can show the past? Can it show you my time?"

Kagome laughed and looked up again. "Not exactly. This is just a movie—those people are actors, pretending to be gladiators."

"Oh," his ears wilted slightly. "So they're not really killing each other."

"Nope. Sorry," she said, suppressing an amused smile.

He glanced back at the television, thinking for a moment, and then shrugged. "That's okay—it's still pretty cool. Oh! Shit, he's gonna fucking—whoa!"

And once again he was entranced.

Kagome gave up on trying to study and relaxed back against the back of the couch, letting herself be drawn into the movie. It was actually pretty good—she'd never gotten around to seeing it before. It was a little on the bloody side, but somehow that didn't bother her as much as it used to these days. She supposed mopping Inuyasha up off the forest floor twice a day made Russell Crowe's imaginary stab wounds seem almost passé.

By the time it was nearing the end, she had moved forward to perch herself on the edge of the coffee table, leaning in as intently as Inuyasha was. They gasped in unison at every wound, made sounds of approval at every small victory, and stared horrorstruck as the moment of truth arrived—

And then everything went pitch black.

"Kagome! Put it back on!" Inuyasha demanded furiously, and she could hear him rounding on her, though it was still too dark for her to actually see him.

She sighed, rather annoyed in her own right. "I can't, Inuyasha—the power's out."

"Out where? Bring it back in!"

In spite of herself, she snorted. "It doesn't quite work that way. We're going to have to wait for the power company to fix it."

"Dammit! You and your damn futuristic gadgets."

"Well I didn't notice you complaining a minute ago."

"That was when the damn thing still worked," he groused, and she could just discern a bit of his outline in the dim ambient light from the windows as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Kagome got to her feet and started to feel her way carefully towards the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Inuyasha asked, and she heard him get up to follow her.

"Gonna try to find a flashlight. I know there's one in my pack, but that's all the way upstairs. There should be one in the kitchen somewhere."

After a little bit of digging and fumbling they managed to locate two flashlights and an old camping lantern, which they placed on the kitchen table to make it a little easier to get around. While Kagome fiddled with the lantern to figure out how to light it, Inuyasha was playing with his own flashlight, flicking it on and off and trying to inspect the bulb without shining it directly in his eyes. Having successfully lit the lantern, Kagome straightened up and glanced at him quizzically, just as he flicked the light on again in his own face and winced away from it. "What're you doing?"

He froze, looking slightly sheepish. "Nothing…"

Kagome grinned, but let it go. "Well, what do you want to do?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "What is there to do?"

"I don't know. Not a whole lot without power, I guess." They both glanced around as though looking for inspiration, but none seemed forthcoming.

"I'm hungry—can we make ramen?" Inuyasha asked.

"Nope—sorry. The stove and the microwave are both electric—they don't work when the power is out."

"But can't we just make a fire like we do back home?"

"It's pouring outside, in case you haven't noticed. I don't think we'd have much luck building a fire in this weather."

"So—we'll build it indoors," he suggested.

Kagome chuckled. "We don't have a fireplace, Inuyasha, and I'd rather face down Naraku with a pebble and a slingshot than face my mother after we set the house on fire."

"Fine then, you come up with something," he grumbled.

She gave a small sigh and said, "Sorry—it's just sort of a nuisance, this blackout thing. I hate it when the power goes out."

"But we don't have any power at all in the feudal era, and you're there most of the time," Inuyasha pointed out.

"I know—but it's different here. Everything is set up to rely on electricity. When there isn't any, life sort of grinds to a halt."

Inuyasha nodded and glanced away into the darkness, uncrossing his arms and resting his palms on the edge of the counter just behind him. Kagome pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and slumped into it.

"Well," Inuyasha said at last, "what do you want to do?"

Kagome thought for a moment, pondering the wood grain of the table as it flickered in the lamplight. "We could play a game," she suggested, looking up to gauge Inuyasha's reaction.

He looked over at her, eyebrows twitching inward. "What kind of game?"

"Oh, I don't know, like a card game or a board game or something."

"I guess. I don't know how to play any of those kinds of games though."

"Don't worry about it—I'll teach you," Kagome replied, feeling herself cheering up significantly as she trotted off to track down a deck of playing cards.

It took a bit of explaining to get him accustomed to the construction of the deck, so she decided to start with a simple game of War. Once he had more or less mastered that and was getting bored (as was she—all her life, she couldn't remember ever actually completing a game of War), they moved on to Slapjack, which he quite enjoyed—and then, feeling a bit more ambitious still, she upped the ante to the slightly more complicated Egyptian Ratscrew.

They were both perched on the edges of their chairs, every muscle tensed as they flipped cards at a nice clip, both of them fixated on the pile, ready to spring. Nine, seven, three, six, ten, three, two, two—_whack!_ They both lunged at it, and Kagome squealed with delight and shot him a gleeful grin, her palm trapped between Inuyasha's hand and the stack of cards. "That would be mine, dog-boy," she taunted, gathering the cards toward her and adding them to her pile as he glared at her, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"No fair—you've been playing this longer than I have."

"And you've got hanyou reflexes—I'd say we were pretty evenly matched."

"Feh."

They fell back into their rhythm. Kagome won a face card draw, then Inuyasha won another slap, then a face card draw of his own. They kept flipping, their competitiveness rising with each victory as their respective piles remained nearly equal. Then another pair, and they both dove for it.

"Ouch!" Kagome flinched, yanking her hand back to find a long, thin line of red slashed across the back of it.

"Oh, shit," Inuyasha breathed, glancing at his claws. "I'm so sorry—Kagome, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm—" but she broke off when he grabbed her hand and yanked it across the table towards him to inspect it himself anxiously. "Inuyasha, don't worry about it, it's just a scratch." But he didn't seem to be paying her any attention, and her mouth dropped open when he ducked his head and started licking the scratch. "Um…" she mumbled, squirming a bit at the strange, ticklish sensation, "what are you doing?"

He paused and glanced up. "I'm cleaning up the blood," he said matter-of-factly.

"With your tongue?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

"I don't know. I just usually use a washcloth and maybe a little antiseptic."

"Too much trouble," he replied with a shrug, and went back to licking her hand.

"Inuyasha stop it," she muttered, twisting her hand gently out of his grip.

He frowned up at her, something like hurt flickering in his lamp-lit eyes. "Why?"

"Just…let me take care of it," she said, getting up from the table and crossing to the sink to clean the cut properly and put a bit of antiseptic on it. It wasn't really all that deep, so she didn't think it was worth trying to bandage.

When she had finished at the sink, she returned to her seat and collected the cards she'd just won, adding them to her deck. But as she glanced up at Inuyasha, ready to resume play, she faltered; he was glaring at the table silently, arms folded over his chest, and hadn't moved to pick up his own cards.

"Hey," she prodded, "want to keep playing?"

"No thanks," he replied sullenly, getting up from his chair with a slight shove and stalking off into the living room. Kagome watched him go with a frown, then sighed, tossed her deck back onto the table, and followed him.

She found him sitting on the couch, still staring moodily into space.

"Hey. What's up?" she asked, taking a seat beside him, a few feet away.

"Nothing," he replied, not looking at her. "Just don't feel like playing anymore."

"Well, what do you want to do then?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should just head back."

"I can't," Kagome said. "I have a test in the morning, remember?"

"Fine. Then maybe I'll just head back." He started to get up from the couch, but Kagome caught him by the elbow. He shrugged her off, but remained in his seat.

"Inuyasha—come on, why are you so grumpy all of a sudden."

He glanced over at her, lamplight from the kitchen flickering in his inscrutable gaze for a moment, and then he looked away again. "I told you, it's nothing."

"It's not nothing—three seconds ago we were having fun, and now you're all closed off. What, is it because I didn't want you licking my hand?"

He shifted his gaze further away. She took that as a yes.

"Inuyasha, talk to me."

He said nothing.

She sighed. "Inuyasha…"

"Just drop it, okay," he grumbled at last. "You don't want me touching you, that's just fine. I won't."

She rolled her eyes. "I never said you couldn't touch me, I just told you not to _lick_ me. I don't think that's an unreasonable request."

"Course not. No licking. Got it. Don't worry, my tongue won't ever come near you again. No hanyou germs."

Kagome made a frustrated noise, cheeks heating slightly with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "Inuyasha, cut it out! You're acting like I—I mean—look, this isn't about _germs_, okay? I'm not disgusted by you or anything; it's just, the whole 'licking my wound' thing seems sort of…intimate. You know?"

Inuyasha remained stoically silent, and as Kagome surveyed his faint profile in the dim light from the kitchen and the windows it occurred to her that maybe he _did_ know. Maybe he had known even as he was doing it. Maybe that was why he was so angry. She'd pushed him away because the sensation of his mouth against her skin had made her feel things—things she wasn't used to feeling, and things she knew she shouldn't feel, especially for Inuyasha. Not only was she not sure she was ready to deal with that kind of feeling, but she was damn sure that Inuyasha didn't feel that way about her, and thinking of him that way when he didn't think of her—well, it was just something she tried to avoid wherever possible. But maybe she'd been wrong. Maybe she'd made a very big mistake.

"Inuyasha," she murmured, reaching out to touch his shoulder. He shrugged her off, so she returned her hand meekly to her lap. "I—I didn't mean to…push you away."

He snorted.

"I mean, it's not that I don't like you…touching me. I just didn't think you wanted…and maybe you don't, I don't know. Maybe I'm totally off-base here, but I…"

She could see his eyes reflecting the yellowish light leaking in from the kitchen, and there was a curious confusion in them. "What are you talking about?"

She swallowed, suddenly afraid that she'd been right in the first place, and that she was making a total fool of herself now. "Nevermind. Just forget I said anything. I'm gonna go see if there's any ice cream—it'll probably melt if we don't eat it." But he caught her wrist as she got to her feet, preventing her escape. She swallowed, unable to face him. Then she jumped slightly when she felt his lips press a tentative kiss to the back of her hand. Turning back, she found him looking up at her nervously, ears slightly lowered as though expecting to be sat. But instead, Kagome sank back down to the couch beside him, her eyes never leaving his. There was something flickering in their depths that she had never seen there before, alongside the fear and the nervousness, a kind of longing. She wondered how long he had been hiding it.

She held her breath as she leaned in ever-so-slowly, her eyes gradually drifting closed, until she could feel his shallow breath against her lips. Just a fraction of an inch more—

And all at once, the room was flooded with light and the screams of fighting, dying gladiators, making them both jump back, hearts racing.

"What the fuck?" Inuyasha breathed, blinking in the sudden brightness.

Kagome took in the TV—which was playing what must have been an encore showing of the same movie they'd been watching before—and the many re-lit lights and pressed a hand to her chest, trying to return her pulse to normal. "The power's back on," she said in answer. "They must have fixed it."

"Perfect," he said wryly. Kagome glanced over at him out of the corner of her eye, and found him doing the same. They both glanced away again. Kagome ran a hand through her hair and straightened out her skirt. Inuyasha scratched the back of his neck. Their eyes were dragged back to one another again, but flicked away just as quickly as before.

And then…

"Oh screw it," Inuyasha said at last—and before she knew what had happened, his palm cradled her cheek, turning her face to meet his lips in a crushing, impassioned kiss. When she recovered from the shock of his boldness, she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his passion with equal measure, dragging him down on top of her and giving in to all those frightening feelings she'd been keeping at bay for so many months. Now that they'd been unleashed, she wondered how she'd ever kept them chained up in the first place. And from the looks of things, Inuyasha was wondering the same thing.

In the background, the battle for the freedom of the gladiators raged on, smothering their grunts and moans and cries of pleasure—but they were both too preoccupied to notice.


	22. The Dog That Walked By Himself

**Author's Note:** This might be a contender for the weirdest thing I've ever written. It's a slightly surreal parody of Rudyard Kipling's "The Cat That Walked By Himself." But it entertained me, so maybe it will entertain some of you as well… ;)

**The Dog That Walked By Himself**

Hear and attend and listen, O Best Beloved, for once there was a Wild Dog who lived in the Wet Wild Woods. Well, not so much lived really as slept, for he was pinned to a tree by the Miko's enchantment for many long years. That one was a real kick in the nuts, let me tell you.

One day the Miko returned to the Wet Wild Woods with a new face, and she spoke the words that woke the Dog from his silent slumber.

"Inuyasha, you're such a jerk!"

(No, not those words.)

"Somebody help me!"

(Now you've got it!)

"O Enemy mine," the Dog said upon waking, "I shall kill you and eat you for breakfast and take with me that enchanted stone you hide, because you are a fucking bitch. So fucking there!"

The Miko looked at him like he was insane. "Who are you, and what the heck are you talking about?"

"I am the Dog who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me. Now stand still so I can fucking rip your guts out!"

The Dog lashed out at the Miko, who did run and scream and make quite a fuss, for she did not care to have her guts fucking ripped out by the dog.

"Sit boy!" she said.

Now truly, O Best Beloved, you will be surprised to hear that the Wild Dog from the Wet Wild Woods did obey her command. Not because he wanted to, and not even because he was still groggy and weirdly suggestible from his very long nap, but because the Old Miko (not to be mistaken for the Miko, who was an entirely different example of the breed) did place a rosary around his neck that allowed the Miko to make a Magic. The First Singing Magic.

Specifically, upon her command, the Dog would smash his face into the ground, and leave a Dog-shaped indentation as testament to his folly.

That was another real kick in the nuts.

From then on, the Dog was in her thrall. "You shall not call me First Friend," he insisted. "I am the Dog who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me. Bitch."

"Uh…okay, whatever," the Miko said. "Tell you what—I promise not to call you 'First Friend' if you quit calling me Kikyo. Deal?"

The Dog thought this over carefully. "What about 'Bitch' or 'Wench'?"

The Miko shrugged. "Meh."

And so the Dog and the Miko walked the same road. But in the nighttime the Dog still walked by himself among the Wet Wild Woods, and sat by himself in the branches of the Wet Wild Trees, and ran off by himself whenever the Wet Wild Shinidama-chuu appeared because he was a two-timing son of a—

That is, because he was the Dog who walked by himself. And all places were alike to him.

Sometimes he carried the Miko upon his back, because it was faster than waiting for her to stumble her way through the Wet Wild Woods on her own. And that iron cart of hers was such a pain in the ass. "But you shall not call me First Servant, even though I have allowed you to ride on my back. For I am the Dog who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me."

"Oh, jeez," the Miko sighed, "not this again. Fine, Inuyasha, I won't call you First Servant. Now can you talk like a normal person please?"

The Miko and the Dog were joined by the Wild Kitsune from the Wet Wild Woods, who was very tiny, but also very annoying, and the Dog did not like him. (Sort of.) But the Miko allowed him to stay. Then they were joined by the Monk from the Winding Road, who was devious and had a penchant for groping the Miko's butt, and the Dog did not like him (_especially_ the groping part, the bastard). But the Miko allowed him to stay. Then they were joined by the Slayer from the Village, who was strong but sad, and weirdly the Dog didn't mind her so much aside from the fact that she at first tried to kill him. But the Miko allowed her to stay. The Miko called them Friends.

"I don't have any Friends," the Dog said. "I am the Dog who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me."

"Yeah, yeah," the Miko muttered, patting him between his wild ears. "Whatever you say, Inuyasha." And she brought him not-so-Wild Ramen from the not-so-Wild Supermarket on the not-so-Wild Other Side of the Well. And he ate it happily, though he tried to grumble.

"I will not call you Giver of Good Food, even though this ramen is fucking awesome," the Dog said. "I am the Dog who walks by himself—"

"'—and all places are alike to me,'" the Miko finished with a sigh. "Yeah, I get it. Are you sure you don't have a head injury or something? You're really starting to freak me out."

When all the Companions had eaten their fill, they one-by-one curled up around the fire to go to sleep. The Dog got to his feet and glanced up at the Tree, about to spring into its branches—but then he glanced back at the Miko, who was tidying up by the fire, making a Magic by stomping the Styrofoam containers flat and collecting them in her inexhaustibly huge backpack. _All places are alike to me_, he thought, _so why should I not remain on the ground?_

He settled at the base of the Wet Wild Tree, at the edge of the warmth of the fire. When she was finished with her Magic, the Miko sat down beside him and gave him a little smile.

"I love you, Inuyasha," she said with her eyes, "even if you are a stubborn jerk who talks like a complete weirdo sometimes." Then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

The Dog's eyes opened wide, and he looked over to her. There, O Best Beloved, was his Enemy, the Miko, his First Friend, his First Servant, his Giver of Good Food. His Best Beloved. She had rested her head upon the shoulder of her own First Friend, her First Servant, her Eater of Good Food, her breath flowing in and out of her with the quiet rhythm of sleep.

The Dog slipped an arm around her shoulders and settled her a little closer, keeping her safe in the warmth of his embrace. _I am the Dog that walks by himself_, he thought as he watched the Miko sleep, _and all places are alike to me._

_Except this one._

* * *

**A/N:** Told you it was weird. And if you're completely baffled right now, google "The Cat That Walked By Himself." It's pretty short. Not promising this will make a great deal more _sense_ afterward, but you might find it more entertaining...

I wouldn't exactly say I'm a fan of Rudyard Kipling, but when I ran across this particular story it just sort of begged me for a parody. At first I intended to use the title/theme for an IY fic in a more serious way, but the strange prose style seemed ripe for mocking—so I sorta ended up with a story that tried to do both things at once. Not sure how well it worked, but what can I say? I still think it's funny… ;)


	23. Before the Dawn

**Author's Note:** So, I've been watching the first half of the Kanketsu-hen/Final Act dub, and it's made me nostalgic. I was flipping through my past oneshots looking for a fix, and I realized I didn't have anything that was quite what I was looking for…so I figured I'd better just write it. ;)

**Before the Dawn**

Inuyasha lay in the darkness of Kagome's bedroom, staring at the soft blue numbers of her digital clock as they slowly counted the minutes away. The digital clock radio had replaced the old analog that he had destroyed one night several months ago after sneaking into her room to watch her sleep, because she'd been mad at him and he'd been afraid she wouldn't come back if he didn't go after her. He hadn't even managed to speak to her once he was there—all he'd succeeded in doing was breaking her clock and making her mad all over again. But she still came back. She always came back.

He glanced down at the crown of her head, cradled in the crook of his shoulder. She was curled against his bare chest, one arm wrapped around his waist while the other hand gently toyed with the beads of the rosary around his neck. They had never been together like this before—hell, he'd never been with anyone like this before—but there was something natural about holding her. Like she belonged there with him, and he with her, even though they came from the opposite sides of time. She was so warm.

So why did he keep feeling like his world was ending?

"Kagome?" he said quietly.

She stirred a little against him, murmuring back a sleepy sound of attention.

"There's something I need to tell you."

"What's that, Inuyasha?" she mumbled against his chest.

He hesitated, wondering for a moment if this was really the best time after all. Maybe he should just hold her while he could, leave the words aside until another time. But then he caught another glimpse of the numbers on the bedside table and knew there wouldn't be a better chance. Five-hundred years between them, and time was still running out.

"It…might make you mad, so just wait until I finish, okay?" he faltered, swallowing the knot in his throat. "I think you already know, but I just…need to tell you. Because it's different when I tell you."

Her brow wrinkled into a frown, and she glanced up at him, finally fully awake. He looked back into her concerned eyes, just visible in the darkness.

"I…was in love with Kikyo," he said haltingly. It was harder to get out than he'd expected, and he noticed a slight wince in Kagome's expression as he said it. She looked away but didn't interrupt him, settling her cheek against his arm again and staring at the rosary. "I know you know that. You knew it before I did. I didn't understand love until…I mean—the thing is, no one was ever kind to me until I met her. I was alone—completely alone. Sometimes I'd go weeks without actually speaking to anyone, and when I did they were usually trying to kill me. Or running scared. No one looked at me like a person until Kikyo. I never knew what it felt like to love someone until I met her."

He took a breath, trying to calm the nerves bunching in his stomach. It was hard to say words. He had never been good with words. "But even though I loved her," he continued, a little more steadily, "I never trusted her. I couldn't. I didn't even know what it meant. Not until…until I met you."

Her fingers curled a little tighter around the beads at his chest, and he was grateful for the warmth.

"Kikyo was kind to me when everything else in my life was hard and lonely. But you…you trusted me. Even when I didn't deserve it, you still trusted me. When I threatened you and hurt you and tried to push you away, you still trusted me with your life. Because you saw me better than I could see myself. Do you…have any idea what that means to me?

"When you saved me from that tree, you didn't just save my life—you saved my soul. And you saved Kikyo's soul too. You gave us a second chance to get things right. Not the way you think—" he added quickly, feeling her tense a little in his arms. "It…it wasn't like that. I just mean…when we parted the first time, we hated each other. In the end, even though she died and there was nothing I could do to stop it, at least I got the chance to tell her what she's meant to me. I got the chance to thank her. That's more than I could have hoped for."

Inuyasha took a deep breath and held Kagome a little closer. "That's why…I have to tell you. Because I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, and I don't know if there will be another opportunity. And no matter what, I don't want to die again knowing that I've missed my chance."

"Missed your chance to what?" she said quietly, and he smiled a little.

"To tell the truth."

When he didn't say anything more, she lifted her eyes to his again. She looked a little anxious, the coming dawn reflected from the window.

He lifted a hand and brushed a stray lock of hair back from her face with the tips of his claws, then cradled his palm against her cheek. "I want to be with you, forever," he said quietly. "No matter what happens, I will always trust you. I will always…love you, Kagome."

And it didn't hurt a bit. He had loved Kikyo. But the words hadn't meant anything to him until he'd met Kagome.

Her lips curved in a grateful smile, and her hand covered his, fingertips slipping into the gaps between his knuckles. "I love you, Inuyasha," she whispered.

The words meant everything to him.

He leaned down and kissed her softly, their joined fingers curling together between them. She was so warm. As dawn broke over the shrine grounds, he knew that soon they would have to return and face what was waiting for them on the other side of the well. Soon everything would change, forever.

But before the dawn, he would hold her as long as he could.

* * *

**A/N:** A little self-indulgent, perhaps, but that's what catharsis is for, right? It's been ages since I've written anything that dealt with the Kikyo/Kagome dilemma…

It's been awhile since I've read the manga, and I'm not sure this exactly slots neatly into the canon (in fact I'm pretty sure it steps on a few things…)—but the idea that I hope comes across is that this is supposed to be the night before the final battle with Naraku, when Kagome and Inuyasha are in Kagome's time for…graduation, I think? Like I say, not sure if it exactly fits…but just go with it… ;)


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